Nurse falls off bridge while helping crash victims

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

(PHOTO: New Market Volunteer Fire Co.)

Nurse falls off bridge while helping crash victims

(PHOTO: New Market Volunteer Fire Co.)

FREDERICK CO., Md. – An accident on I-70 in Frederick County, Maryland on Wednesday morning injured three, including a nurse who stopped to help the crash victims and fell from the bridge into the Monocacy River.

According to officials, around 4:44 a.m. on Wednesday, the Frederick Barrack was alerted to a commercial truck that was traveling westbound on I-70 without its headlights on. Soon after, a tractor trailer loaded with asphalt struck the rear of the dump truck. After the impact, the tractor trailer struck the right concrete wall of the bridge before jack-knifing and catching on fire. The dump truck overturned, spilling much of its load of concrete.

A trauma nurse, Angela Weir, and her husband were traveling eastbound on I-70, when they saw the crash. As a nurse, Weir stopped to assist in providing emergency care to the crash victims. Unaware that there was no median between the eastbound and westbound lanes at the scene, Weir fell more than 75 feet into the Monocacy River when she tried to leap over the bridge wall to attempt to cross to where the crash occurred. Her husband called 911, and one of the responding troopers was able to pull her from the water to the shore.

The injured are identified as Charles H. Williams, 53, who was driving a dump truck loaded with concrete, Douglas L. Sexton, Jr., 58, who was driving a tractor trailer loaded with asphalt, and Angela Weir, 47. Both Williams and Weir were flown by Maryland State Police helicopters to the UM Shock Trauma Center. Sexton was taken to the Meritus Hospital, where he received treatment.

Maryland State Police say that the investigation into the crash is currently ongoing, and charges are pending. Witnesses told investigators that the dump truck was traveling at a very slow speed and did not have its headlights on.